From what has been said, it is clear that all Christian theology, if it is to be true to its origin must be first and foremost a theology of Resurrection. It must be a theology of Resurrection before it is a theology of the justification of the sinner; it must be a theology of Resurrection before it is a theology of the metaphysical Sonship of God. It can be a theology of the Cross but only as and within the framework of a theology of Resurrection. Its first and primordial statement is the good tidings that the power of death, the one constant of history, has, in a single instance, been broken by the power of God and that history has thus been imbued with an entirely new hope. In other words, the core of the gospel consists in the good tidings of the Resurrection and, consequently, in the good tidings of God’s action, which precedes all human doing. (Principles of Catholic Theology, pp. 184-185)
I’m immediately reminded of the “We are a Resurrection People” movement and the desire of some to encompass all that was and is done as being solely about the Resurrection. From a very superficial aspect it would indeed appear that is what Ratzinger was saying here, but that is a shalow lie indeed. His statement is quite clear, if one has eyes to see: “It can be a theology of the Cross but only as and within the framework of a theology of Resurrection.” Nowhere does it suggest that it is and must be a theology of Resurrection without the Cross, because simply without the Cross the Resurrection does not exist; likewise without the Resurrection the Cross would be a meaningless and futile expression.
It is, in a way, almost akin to the Trinity in nature – where one is, there the other must be. It is only when we as humans attempt to reassert our temporal understanding of nature, to superimpose it over the timeless work of God that we find a temptation to juxtapose the Cross with the Resurrection. But God, simply, is not a time-constrained being. For Him, the Cross and Resurrection are a part of the same act, one fulfilling and I might say filling the other. Plainly, God is not a contradiction; to pose one half of an act against another is to put God against Himself. Christ died that He might rise again, and with Him raise up His creation. I reference, in particular CCC 618 and 651.
Protestants want the Resurrection without the Cross. They want the gain without the pain. It can’t be done in the salvation plan that Christ has configured for us. We either rejoice in our sufferings with Christ (paul says ‘conformed to His Death’)and free ourselves from the confines of the world OR we refuse suffering, avoid it, and reamin in bondage to all that the world throws at us–a life without Christ, to be sure. This Benedict guy’s pretty smart!